System and method for air sampling in controlled environments

ABSTRACT

A system and method for sampling air in a controlled environment that includes two or more air sampling devices at different locations within the controlled environment. A controller is provided at a location outside of the controlled environment and in separate air flow communication with each of the two or more air sampling devices via separate first vacuum tubes, the controller having a manifold configured to separately control a rate of air flow from the two or more air sampling devices to the controller via each of the separate first vacuum tubes and to selectively direct the air flow from each of the separate first vacuum tubes to one or more second vacuum tubes. A vacuum source is provided at a location outside the controlled environment and in air flow communication with the controller via the one or more second vacuum tubes, the vacuum source providing suction and being controlled by the controller to generate the air flow through each of the first vacuum tubes. And, a flow switch for each of the two or more air sampling devices is provided at a location between a corresponding air sampling device and the vacuum source, each of the flow switches being configured to separately measure and control the rate of air flow through a corresponding first vacuum tube. An alarm is automatically activated at a location inside the controlled environment by one or more of the flow switches when the rate of air flow measured at one or more of the flow switches deviates from a desired value by a predetermined amount.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.12/723,095, filed Mar. 12, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/305,669, filed Feb. 18, 2010, andwhich is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/402,738,filed Mar. 12, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 12/068,483, filed Feb. 7, 2008, the entire disclosures of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to devices and methods for collecting airsamples in indoor environments. In particular, the present inventionrelates to devices and methods for collecting, processing, and analyzingair samples in clean rooms and electronically and automaticallycontrolling and calibrating the sampling equipment from a single,central location.

2. Description of the Related Art

Clean rooms found in manufacturing, research, and other facilities aretypically classified into two broad categories based on the static airpressure inside the rooms relative to atmospheric pressure and/or basedon the air pressure in spaces adjacent the clean rooms. A positive airpressure room is maintained at an absolute air pressure greater thanatmospheric pressure, greater than the air pressure in spaces adjacentthe clean room, or both. The positive air pressure in such rooms isprovided by pumping filtered and/or conditioned air into the rooms andcontrolling the flow of air out of the rooms. The adjacent spaces, whichmay be manufacturing facilities or offices, are typically maintained ator close to atmospheric pressure by heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems, or by providing an opening to theenvironment that allows the adjacent spaces to equilibrate withatmospheric pressure. Thus, air flowing from the positive pressure cleanroom will flow toward the lower pressure in adjacent rooms or to theatmosphere.

When a positive air pressure clean room is breached, air flowing toadjacent spaces or the atmosphere is generally not a problem as long asairborne contaminants present in the clean room do not pose a potentialadverse health effect to people in the adjacent spaces. Typically, theair inside clean rooms in which electronics, aerospace hardware, opticalsystems, military equipment, and defense-related research aremanufactured or conducted may not contain airborne gases, vapors, andparticulate matter at concentrations that present a safety or healthconcern to human health or the environment. However, that is not alwaysthe case, as other operations within those industries may generatecontaminants that are above acceptable levels and, therefore, must beprevented from escaping the clean room without treatment.

A negative air pressure room is maintained at an absolute air pressurethat is either less than atmospheric pressure, less than the airpressure in spaces adjacent the clean room, or both. The negativepressure is maintained by pumping air out of the room at a rate fasterthan that at which filtered and/or conditioned air is pumped into theroom. Negative pressure rooms are often used when there is a concernthat contaminants in the air in the room may pose a potential healththreat to human health in adjacent spaces or the environment.

Notwithstanding the human health and environmental implications, certaintypes of manufacturing and research operations must be conducted withina positive air pressure clean room to satisfy regulatory requirementsand industry-adopted good manufacturing and laboratory quality controlstandards. For example, state and federal regulations, including thosepromulgated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH), may necessitate the use of positive or negative pressure cleanrooms.

In particular, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires thatpharmaceutical production be done within the confines of clean roomsthat provide for the validation and certification that manufacturedbatches of pharmaceutical products are being produced in a sanitaryenvironment.

Positive and negative air pressure clean rooms have been used for manyyears. U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,111, for example, discloses a negativepressure apparatus and method for protecting the environment andpopulations from airborne asbestos and other particulate contaminationinside a building, which includes an enclosure having a blower to pullair into a filtration unit inside the enclosure and dispel the filteredair to the atmosphere. U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,480 discloses the generalfeatures of a clean room.

Various FDA regulations and standards also specify requirements for airsampling and/or air monitoring equipment to be used inside clean roomsto verify or validate the cleanliness of the facility during certaindrug manufacturing activities. The regulations also provide forelectronic data recording, accuracy, precision, and record-keepingrelating to monitoring the air quality within clean rooms. Similarrequirements are imposed on other industries, such as the biotechnologyindustry.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,721 describes an air sampling device and method forcollecting airborne pathogens and psychrometric data from a room or fromremote air samples where the sample volume is electronically controlledby closely monitoring fan speed. That patent illustrates a device thatdraws room air into a sampling device using a pump, which causespathogen-containing particulates in the air to impact a growth/inhibitormedia (a solid, liquid, gel, or mixture thereof) stored in a dish thatis positioned within the sampling device. The patent states thatprevious sampling devices could not achieve a constant volumetric airflow of better than ±30% relative to a nominal or set-point flow rate,which caused a large variability in calculated concentrations ofpathogens.

As U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,721 patent suggests, one of the keys tosuccessfully monitoring the air quality within a clean room is to ensurethat the air flow rate through the air sampling/monitoring devices isvery accurately determined during the time when a volume of air iscollected. That fact is also appreciated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,674,which discloses an electronically timed, positive displacement airsampling pump for use with a wide variety of air sample collectingdevices and in a wide range of environmental conditions. The disclosedinvention is said to provide accurate average flow rate, independentlymetered total volume, operating time register, and audible “rate fault”alarm. In that patent, accuracy is achieved by using a timing circuitcoupled with a mechanical bellows.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,548 illustrates a control system flow chart for anair sampling device for use in a controlled environment. In particular,the patent discloses a controller logic that involves turning on a pump,checking pressure, monitoring sampling time, drawing air into thesampler, shutting off the pump, and checking for leaks in the lines. Thepatent also teaches using a purge system for purging the lines andassociated air particulate sampler using a purge gas such as nitrogengas. In that patent, air sampling only occurs at one location (e.g., aprocessing chamber for semiconductor devices).

None of the prior art devices and air sampling methods described aboveis suitable for monitoring the level of contaminants in the air of amodern clean room. For example, a volumetric air flow accuracy notbetter than ±30% relative to a nominal or set-point flow rate,mechanical bellows, and single-location sampling are not sufficientwhere issues of sample volume accuracy and precision are important atmultiple locations in a clean room. Accordingly, there is a need for anair sampling system and method that has a flow rate accuracy better than±30%, a digital flow switch, and simultaneous multi-location sampling.

In addition, none of the prior art devices provide the degree ofcontrol, monitoring, reporting, modularity, and remote operationrequired in the modern clean room. For example, none of the prior artdevices and air sampling methods described above utilizes multiple airsampling devices with inline digital flow switches at each air samplingdevice to separately and simultaneously measure the air flow realized ateach individual air sampling device. Nor do any of the prior art devicesand air sampling methods described above provide the ability tosimultaneously monitor and control a variable number of air samplingdevices placed at different locations in a clean room from a single,central location that is remote from the air sampling devices.Accordingly, there is also a need for an air sampling system and methodthat allows the user to separately and simultaneously measure, monitor,and control varying numbers of air sampling devices from a single,central location.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An air sampling/monitoring system and method in accordance with thepresent invention overcomes at least the shortcomings of the prior artdiscussed above by providing two or more air sampling devices atdifferent locations within the controlled environment. A controller isprovided at a location outside of the controlled environment and inseparate air flow communication with each of the two or more airsampling devices via separate first vacuum tubes, the controller havinga manifold configured to separately control a rate of air flow from thetwo or more air sampling devices to the controller via each of theseparate first vacuum tubes and to selectively direct the air flow fromeach of the separate first vacuum tubes to one or more second vacuumtubes. A vacuum source is provided at a location outside the controlledenvironment and in air flow communication with the controller via theone or more second vacuum tubes, the vacuum source providing suction andbeing controlled by the controller to generate the air flow through eachof the first vacuum tubes. And, a flow switch for each of the two ormore air sampling devices is provided at a location between acorresponding air sampling device and the vacuum source, each of theflow switches being configured to separately measure and control therate of air flow through a corresponding first vacuum tube. An alarm isautomatically activated at a location inside the controlled environmentby one or more of the flow switches when the rate of air flow measuredat one or more of the flow switches deviates from a desired value by apredetermined amount.

With those and other objects, advantages, and features of the inventionthat may become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may bemore clearly understood by reference to the following detaileddescription of the invention, the appended claims and to the severaldrawings attached herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present invention can be better understood withreference to the following drawings, which are part of the specificationand represent preferred embodiments of the present invention. Thecomponents in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasisinstead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the presentinvention. And, in the drawings, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary facility having a cleanroom therein according one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air sampling/monitoring system foruse in the clean room of FIG. 1 according to a non-limiting embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a controller connected to a basestation and a touchpanel according to a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a port of the controller shown in FIG.3 according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a purge system for purging the airsampling devices according to a non-limiting embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating isolator controller logicaccording to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a detailed front view of a touchpanel according to anon-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an air sampling/monitoring system foruse in the clean room of FIG. 1 according to another non-limitingembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an air sampling/monitoring system foruse in the clean room of FIG. 1 according to yet another non-limitingembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a detailed front view of an inline flow control moduleaccording to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a detailed side view of the inline flow control module shownin FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is another detailed side view of the inline flow control moduleshown in FIG. 10 with the housing removed;

FIG. 13A is a top view of a digital air flow switch used in the inlineflow control module shown in FIG. 12 according to a non-limitingembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13B is a detailed front view of the digital flow switch interfaceof the inline flow control module shown in FIG. 10 and the digital flowenclosure shown in FIG. 17 according to a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 14 is a rear view of an inline flow control base station used withair sampling/monitoring system shown in FIG. 9 according to anon-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a detailed front view of a digital flow switch interface of acontroller in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an air sampling/monitoring system foruse in the clean room of FIG. 1 according to yet another non-limitingembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a detailed front view of the digital flow enclosure accordingto a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 18 is a detailed top view, taken in section, of the digital flowenclosure shown in FIG. 17 according to a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Several preferred embodiments of the invention are described forillustrative purposes, it being understood that the invention may beembodied in other forms not specifically shown in the drawings.

Turning first to FIG. 1, shown therein is a schematic of an exemplaryfacility 100 having one or more clean rooms 102 therein. The clean room102 is surrounded by an adjacent space 104 and the outdoor atmosphere106. The adjacent space 104 may be one or more rooms within the samefacility 100 in which the clean room 102 is located and that adjoin theclean room 102, such as, for example, a separate manufacturing room,another clean room, a finish and fill room, a research laboratory,offices, etc. The clean room 102 and adjacent space 104 are separated bya divider, such as a wall 5.

The clean room 102 in the exemplary facility 100 is capable of beingmaintained at an air pressure P₁ that is less than or greater than theair pressure P₂ of the adjacent space 104 and atmospheric air pressureP_(ATM) of the outdoor atmosphere 106. That is accomplished by an HVACsystem (not shown) that causes conditioned and filtered air to be pumpedinto the clean room 102 at a controlled flow rate Q_(IN) as depicted inFIG. 1. Air inside the clean room 102 that is pumped out of or otherwiseflows out of the clean room 102 is represented by Q_(OUT). When thedifference between Q_(IN) and Q_(OUT) (i.e., Q_(IN)−Q_(OUT)) is greaterthan zero, a positive pressure will be maintained in the clean room 102.And, when the difference between Q_(IN) and Q_(OUT) is less than zero, anegative pressure will be maintained in the clean room 102.

Turning now to FIG. 2, shown therein is a schematic diagram of an airsampling/monitoring system 200, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, for use in sampling or monitoring the air in theclean room 102. The air sampling/monitoring system 200 includes acontroller 202 (front view shown), a vacuum pump 208, an optional purgepump 206, and an optional computing device 210, all of which may beco-located together in the adjacent space 104, adjacent to or remotefrom (i.e., not directly adjacent to) the clean room 102.

Remotely connected to the controller 202 are a stand-alonewall-mountable or benchtop touchpanel 214 and four air sampling devices216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, but that number is not limited by theair sampling/monitoring system 200 to any particular quantity of airsampling devices 216. That is, the system 200 is linearly scalable tosubstantially any number n of air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c,. . . , and 216 n, wherein n is preferable 10 (i.e., 216 a, 216 b, 216c, . . . , and 216 j). A typical air sampling device suitable for usewith the present invention is the SMA ATRIUM brand air sampling devicemade by Veltek Associates, Inc., Malvern, Pa. The air sampling devices216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n according to the presentinvention may be any known air sampling device for collecting a volumeof air. The terms “collecting,” “sampling,” “monitoring,” and the likeare not used to refer just to whole air sampling devices, but also torefer to devices that process the flow of fluid in order to separatecertain gases, vapors, and particulate matter in the fluid forsubsequent analysis and quantification. The terms “air” and “fluid” areused interchangeably to refer to gases, vapors, and particulates. Thus,“air sampler” does not mean that only air is being collected and/ormonitored.

In addition, although FIG. 2 shows a single touchpanel 214 connected tofour air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, it is alsocontemplated that there may be other arrangements of touchpanels and airsampling devices. For example, there may be a one-to-one ratio ofindividual or discrete touchpanels 214 and air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n, or a single touchpanel 214 may beconnected to three air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, and 216 c while aseparate touchpanel 214 is connected to a fourth air sampling device 216d.

The touchpanel 214 is in electrical communication with the controller202 via signal wires 218, or using wireless means such as an internalreceiver/transmitter (not shown) provided with the controller 202 and aninternal receiver/transmitter (not shown) provided with the touchpanel214. In the figures, certain signal wires (e.g., signal wires 218) arerepresented by dotted lines to illustrate that those signal wires arenot necessary when wireless receiver/transmitters are employed by thedevices placed in electrical communication by those signal wires.Wireless communications can be implemented over a data communicationsnetwork (not shown) using a Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)integrated radio with digital input/outputs and signals. The datacommunications network may be any proprietary or public network,including a packet-switched network, such as the Internet. Thereceiver/transmitters used to transmit data over such a network may beconfigured to use the same high frequency, which is unique to theoverall air sampling/monitoring system 200. The frequency is selected soas to reduce the likelihood of interference.

The four illustrated sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d areconnected to a vacuum pump 208 (disclosed in more detail below) by wayof the controller 202 using one or more air tubes 220, which may be¼-inch (inside diameter) vacuum tubing on the clean room 102 side of theair sampling/monitoring system 200 and ⅜-inch (inside diameter) vacuumtubing on the adjacent space 104 side of the air sampling/monitoringsystem 200. Other sized tubing may also be used. The one or more airtubes 220 are connected to a wall-mounted quick disconnect outlet 224located at the wall 5 in between the clean room 102 and the adjacentspace 104. Within the controller 202 is a manifold (not shown) that tiesall of the individual air tubes 220 together and connects them to thevacuum side of the vacuum pump 208. Individual solenoids (not shown)associated with the air tubes 220 are used to turn on the air flow toeach air sampling device 216 so that any combination of sampling devices216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or 216 d can be employed simultaneously toperform sampling cycles at various locations throughout the clean room102.

The touchpanel 214 and air sampling devices 216 are co-located togetherin the clean room 102, or in a portion of the clean room 102. Thetouchpanel 214 serves as a remote command center for operating thecontroller 202, which is located outside of the clean room 102. Thetouchpanel 214 includes various indicators 226 that identify which airsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or 216 d are being used forair sampling, a digital LED display 228 that indicates the timeassociated with a sampling cycle, and various input mechanisms, such asswitches 230, that receive input from a user to signal to the controller202 which air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or 216 d tooperate. The touchpanel 214 therefore eliminates the need for the userto leave the clean room 102 to operate the controller 202 (i.e. to startand stop flow at the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or216 d).

The vacuum pump 208 is a demand pump that operates upon receiving asignal from the controller 202 to operate at the beginning of an airsampling cycle. It is powered by a standard alternating current (AC)power source (not shown) provided by the facility 100 in which the airsampling/monitoring system 200 is installed, by power from thecontroller 202, or both. The vacuum pump 208 is connected to thecontroller 202 using ¾-inch (inside diameter) vacuum tubing. Other sizetubing may also be used. The vacuum pump 208, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, is a 1.5 HP motor vacuum pump. Thedischarge from the vacuum pump 208 is directed to the outside atmosphere106 or within the adjacent space 104 as needed, as shown by dischargetubes 222.

The optional purge pump 206 may be connected to the controller 202 using¼-inch (inside diameter) vacuum tubing. Other size tubing may also beused. The discharge from the purge pump 206 is also directed to theoutside atmosphere 106 or within the adjacent space 104 as needed. Thedischarge will most likely be processed through an abatement system (notshown) to collect or scrub purge gases and contaminants collected duringthe purge cycle, as disclosed in more detail below.

The computing device 210 may be used as a data recorder. The computingdevice 210 may be a dedicated computing device connected directly to thecontroller by signal wire 232 or wirelessly over a data communicationsnetwork 234. The computing device 210 may include an internalreceiver/transmitter (not shown) to facilitate that wirelesscommunication. The data communications network 234 may be anyproprietary or public network, including a packet-switched network, suchas the Internet, a local area network, a wireless network, or acombination of networks. The communications network 234 may use a FHSSintegrated radio with digital input/outputs and signals, with thereceiver/transmitters of the controller 202 and the computing device 210being on the same high frequency that is unique to the overall airsampling/monitoring system 200.

Data recorded by the computing device 210 may include, among other data,the time a sample was taken, the date a sample was taken, the length oftime over which a sample was taken, the number and occurrence of “1 CFM”errors during a sample cycle and the location a sample was taken. Inaddition to data logging, the computing device 210 may also be used as aportal for remotely monitoring and controlling the sampling/monitoringsystem 200. Accordingly, each of the functions disclosed below for eachof the components of the sampling/monitoring system 200 can be performedremotely via the computing device 210.

To facilitate the remote monitoring and control of thesampling/monitoring system 200, the computing device 210 may include anysuitable computing processor or processing platform that is capable ofperforming the functions and operations in accordance with theinvention. The computing platform is preferably, for example, a FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application-Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), or a programmable logic controller (PLC), either in astand alone system or as part of a network. All or parts of the of thesampling/monitoring system 200 and the processes required to remotelymonitor and control the of the sampling/monitoring system 200 can bestored on or read from a memory or computer-readable media.

The processor and memory used to monitor and control thesampling/monitoring system 200 can be implemented using any suitablecomputing device 210 (e.g., a Personal Computer (PC), such as a laptopor tablet PC, a Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device(SME PED), and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)). The computing device210 includes a display for the user to monitor the status of the variouscomponents of the sampling/monitoring system 200 and includes a userinterface, such as a keyboard, key pad, or touch screen, for the user toinput instructions for controlling the sampling/monitoring system 200.Accordingly, an image representing the component being monitored orcontrolled can be shown on the display (i.e., an image representing thefront of the controller 202 (e.g., FIG. 4), the touchpanel 214 (e.g.,FIG. 7), the inline flow control modules 904 (e.g., FIG. 10), and/or thedigital flow enclosure 1602 (e.g., FIG. 17)), or any other suitableimage, to allow the user to see exactly what is occurring within thesampling/monitoring system 200 in real time and to make real-timedecisions regarding which control instructions to initiate. Thatfunctionality adds a large degree of flexibility to thesampling/monitoring system 200, enabling a clean room 102 to bemonitored and controlled remotely from substantially any location.Moreover, the computing device 210 can be connected to any number ofsampling/monitoring systems 200 at any number of locations, therebyproviding a mechanism for monitoring and controlling multiple cleanrooms 102 from a single, central location. And, the same functionalitymay be provided via a secure website from which a user can remotelymonitor and control any number of sampling/monitoring systems 200 overthe Internet from virtually any location, adding yet another degreeflexibility and accessibility to the present invention.

Turning now to FIG. 3, shown therein is a schematic diagram of acontroller 202 (rear view shown) of the present invention connected to atouchpanel base station 302 and a touchpanel 214. The controller 202includes four modular ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d forconnecting the controller 202 to the four separate air sampling devices216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, respectively, and one touchpanel 214.The controller 202, however, may have any number n of modular ports 308a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n and corresponding touchpanels 214 andsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n. The simplestconfiguration would be a single controller 202 having a single port 308a in one room, connected to one or more air sampling devices 216 a and asingle touchpanel 214 in another room. An additional port 308 b can thenbe added to the controller 202 to connect with an additional one or moreair sampling devices 216 b, and the touchpanel 214 can be updated tohave an interface that controls the second air sampling device 216 b, ora second touchpanel 214 may be used. The touchpanel 214 and air samplingdevice 216 b of the port 308 b can be in the same room as the touchpanel214 and the air sampling device 216 a for the port 308 a, but in adifferent area of that room, or can be in an entirely different room.The ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n are further modularbecause they include their own dedicated power, hardware, and software,including fittings and connectors necessary for operation. In otherwords, the modularity makes the system easily configurable by adding orremoving ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and/or 308 n to connect withindividual touchpanels 214 and their associated one or more air samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n, respectively.

Although FIG. 3 shows the touchpanel 214 connected to a single port 308a, it can be connected to each of the ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308d and, indirectly, to each of the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216c, and 216 d, respectively. The controller 202 passes signals betweenthe touchpanel 214 and the sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 dconnected to a particular port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, or 308 d. Thus, thecontrol signals sent from the touchpanel 214 or the port 308 a are sentto the air sampling device 216 a also connected to that same port 308 a,but not to the air sampling devices 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d connected tothe other ports 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d.

Because the controller 202 is modular, it may have any number n of ports308, depending upon the needs of the clean room 102 (or clean rooms102), as specified, for example, in the individual facility air samplingprotocol, standard operating procedures, quality assurance/qualitycontrol plans, regulations, etc. For example, the controller 202 may beused to control 1, 2, 3, . . . n individual air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n deployed within one or more clean rooms102, in which case it will have a corresponding number n of ports.Preferably, one or more of the individual air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, . . . , and/or 216 n and one touchpanel 214 are connectedto each one of the individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308n.

Each of the individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 nincludes at least one connector 310 for connecting the individual ports308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n to data loggers, such as thecomputing device 210, or to other devices. Preferably, at least twomulti-pin connectors 310 are used. Pairs of multi-pin connectors 310 areelectrically connected in parallel. A suitable multi-pin connector 310would include, but is not limited to, a 9-pin connector. Each of theindividual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n also includes atleast one air tube interface 312 for connecting the individual ports 308a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n to the individual air samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n.

The touchpanel base station 302 can be used for wired or wirelesscommunication between the controller 202 and the touchpanel 214. Thetouchpanel base station 302 may be needed as an intermediary device torelay signals between the controller 202 and the touchpanel 214 whenthose two components are located a large enough distance apart that asingle, continuous signal wire 218 becomes too long to be a convenientor effective means of signal transport. The base station may also beneeded as an intermediary device to relay signals between the controller202 and the touchpanel 214 when those two components are located a largeenough distance apart that a direct wireless connection cannot be made.And, the touchpanel base station 302 may be needed to facilitatewireless communication between the controller 202 and the touchpanel 214when either the controller 202 or the touchpanel 214 is provided withoutan internal receiver/transmitter to facilitate wireless communicationstherebetween. The touchpanel base station 302 may be provided with areceiver/transmitter (not shown) to facilitate such wirelesscommunications.

The touchpanel base station 302 may be co-located with the controller202, or otherwise outside the clean room 102, or it may be co-locatedwith the touchpanel 214 inside the clean room 102. The touchpanel basestation 302 acts primarily as a data communications relay between thetouchpanel 214 and the controller 202 and it may be operativelyconnected to the either the touchpanel 214 or the controller 202 via adata communications network 306 and 316. The data communications network306 and 316 may be any proprietary or public network, including apacket-switched network, such as the Internet, a local area network, awireless network, or a combination of networks. The communicationsnetwork 306 and 316 may use a FHSS integrated radio with digitalinput/outputs and signals. The receiver/transmitter of the touchpanelbase station 302 is on the same high frequency that is unique to theoverall air sampling/monitoring system 200.

The touchpanel base station 302 interface operates as a two-way(point-to-point) monitoring and control device with expandableinput/output options. For example, when the touchpanel 214 is providedwithout an internal receiver/transmitter for wireless communications, itcan be connected to the base station by signal wire 304 and thereceiver/transmitter of the touchpanel base station 302 will facilitatewireless communications with the controller 202 via wireless network316. And, when the controller 202 is provided without an internalreceiver/transmitter for wireless communications, it can be connected tothe base station by signal wire 314 and the receiver/transmitter of thetouchpanel base station 302 will facilitate wireless communications withthe touchpanel 214 via wireless network 316. Both of thoseconfigurations eliminate the need for the touchpanel 214 to be directlyconnected to the controller 202 by signal wire 218. Thereceiver/transmitters used to facilitate such wireless communicationsare a dedicated pair that only communicate with each other.

When the controller 202 and the touchpanel 214 communicate, thetouchpanel 214 connects to input/output circuit boards (not shown) atthe controller 202 that signal to the touchpanel 214 whether theindividual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n are powered up,are in an air sampling mode, and/or experience an air flow error duringan air sampling cycle. In that way, the touchpanel 214 can detect thestate of activity of each of the individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, .. . , and 308 n at the controller 202, thereby allowing a user todetermine where in the facility 100 sampling is being conducted (i.e.,which air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and/or 216 n arepresently being operated) and at which air sampling devices 16 a, 216 b,216 c, . . . , and/or 216 n any errors occur. The touchpanel 214 canalso be used to remotely start and stop sampling at various air samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n within the facility 100,thereby eliminating the need for the user to access the controller 202directly to perform that function.

Turning now to FIG. 4, shown therein is a schematic diagram of anexemplary port 308 of the controller 202 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The port 308 has its own dedicated timer 402, airflow switch 404, direct current (DC) power supply, air tube interface312, two multi-pin connectors 310, facility System Control and DataAcquisition (SCADA) interface 410, 1 CFM circuit board 412, digital flowswitch interface 414, and a digital timer interface 416. The port 308 ismodular and independent of other ports associated with the controller202, as previously disclosed. Thus, in the event the port 308 fails, theremaining ports associated with the controller 202 can continue tofunction within calibrated tolerances. The modular design also removesthe possibility of a single point system failure.

The port 308 has its own DC power supply that it converts from thecontroller's 202 AC power supply 406 and it is, therefore, not dependenton a centralized power source to operate. Ground loop or DC voltageshifts are eliminated by using optical coupling circuits (not shown),thus providing stable and robust performance. Those circuits isolate theSCADA DC voltage and ground distribution system from the controller's202 DC voltage and ground distribution system (not shown). Wheninterconnected with another system within the facility 100 (e.g., acentral monitoring system), the sampling/monitoring system 200 will notdepend on a common DC ground bus connection with that facility system,which enables those two systems to be interconnected with long cableswithout requiring an extraordinary DC ground interconnection. Thus, whenthe facility system sends and receives current signals that arereferenced to that system's DC voltage and ground distribution system,the problems associated with interconnecting two systems with differentpower requirements are safely and effectively eliminated. For example,those features allow the sampling/monitoring system 200 to be connecteddirectly to a computing device 210, such a PC, provided within thefacility 100.

The dedicated timer 402 is used to monitor the air sampling cycleduration. The timer 402 may be located at the controller 202 outside theclean room 102, or at the touchpanel 214 inside the clean room 102 andconnected to the controller 202 via signal wire 218. The status of thetimer 402 for the port 308 is observable at the controller 202 via thedigital timer interface 416 and/or at the touchpanel 214 via its digitalLED display 228. Each timer 402 may run independently or simultaneouslywith other ports 308. The timer 402 may be calibrated to a knownstandard to obtain very accurate readings. The timer 402 starts the airsampling cycle and issues commands through its input/output to opensolenoids (not shown) and start the vacuum pump 208. The timer 402signals to the air flow switch 404 that a sampling cycle has beeninitiated so the computing device 412 can determine if the proper airflow is present. The timer 402 also provides +12 volts DC power to othercomponents of each port 308 and/or touchpanel 214. The timer 402 can beset, calibrated, and turned on and off via the digital timer interface416.

The controller 202 has an internal interface 410 that can connect to acustomer's SCADA interface, and/or a processor 412 or programmable logiccontroller (PLC) that can interface with a central monitoring systemassociated with the facility 100 (e.g., a system that monitorsconditions in multiple rooms throughout the facility). The controller202 includes an isolator interface (not shown) that will not create anyvoltage shifts or ground loops when connected to other systems in thefacility 100 or other components of the sampling/monitoring system 200.Voltage shifts and ground loops can cause information problems for thefacility 100 and/or the controller 202. The purge mode of the controller202 is not interfered with or affected by the wireless controls orisolation interface input/outputs of the system 200.

The air flow switch 404 includes a digital flow switch interface 414that may be programmed to display air flow rates in liters per minute(LPM), cubic feet per minute (CFM), or other units. The nominal orset-point volumetric flow rate through each of the one or more airsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d is 1 CFM (or 30 LPM).That is accomplished by the 1 CFM circuit board 412 and the air flowswitch 404. The various parts of the digital flow switch interface 414are disclosed in more detail below in connection with the inline flowcontrol module 904 and FIG. 13B and the controller 202 and FIG. 15.

The air flow switch 404 generates an error signal if the air flowingthrough the port 308 during an air sampling cycle, T, does not meet apre-programmed or set-point 1 CFM air flow value or satisfypre-determined tolerances. The signal allows the user to be alerted to aproblem with a particular air sample. Because the air flow switch 404 isa digital switch, it may be easily calibrated against a standard flowswitch (such as a National Institute of Standards andTechnology-certified switch), and it is insulated from negative effectscaused by pressure variations in the air flow tubing and/or the locationof the air flow switch 404. Use of a digital air flow switch 404 alsoeliminates internal piping variations from component to component orsystem to system, and it has an integrated flow adjustment pinch valve,which reduces piping. Use of a digital air flow switch 404 substantiallyeliminates those problems.

The air flow switch 404 is mechanically and electrically connected tothe air tube interface 312, which receives the air tube 220 to providefluid communication between the air flow switch 404 of the port 308 anda remote air sampling device 216, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2. Themechanical and electrical connections of the air flow switch 404 aresimilar to those disclosed below with respect to the inline flow controlmodule 904 and FIG. 13A. While a digital air flow switch 404 ispreferred, a float type meter (rotameter) could also be used, ifpressure variations are taken into account. Rotameters are lessdesirable because, among other things, it may be necessary to provide acalibration conversion device and computed transfer function when usinga rotameter. And, the rotameter must be positioned at a suitable leveland angle to permit accurate manual readings.

The air flow switch 404 is located between the one or more air samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n and the 1 CFM circuitboard 412 and is designed to maintain a steady-state flow rate throughthe one or more air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and216 n and associated air tubing 220, with a detectable air flow ratedeviation tolerance of ±3 percent from the nominal set-point flow rate(typically, the concern is when the flow rate decreases 3% from thenominal set-point flow rate). That air flow rate accuracy, whichprovides a margin of error of about 2 percent for a system calibratedfor ±5 percent, for example, is achieved through a combination ofroutine and non-routine calibration checks using a standard flow switch,as discussed above, and software and hardware that constantly monitorsflow rate in real-time or near real-time. The air flow switch 404 isprogrammed to send an error signal to the 1 CFM circuit board 412 whenthe air flow is below the programmed set-point or low-flow value. Thatis, the air flow switch 404 informs the 1 CFM circuit board 412 that theair flow is below the 3-percent minimum level programmed into thesystem. The 1 CFM circuit board 412 checks to ensure the air flow rateerror is valid. If the 1 CFM circuit board 412 confirms the validity ofthe air flow, it sends a signal to the individual port 308 a, 308 b, 308c, . . . , or 308 n that is performing the air sampling.

The flow switch 404 has low and high set-points, which are programmable.When the air flow is too far above or below the set-point values, theair flow switch 404 sends a digital “on” signal to the 1 CFM circuitboard 412 that the air flow is in error. The 1 CFM circuit board 412 isactive during an air sampling cycle, and a signal from the air flowswitch 404 will cause the 1 CFM circuit board 412 to send or broadcast aflow error to the controller 202, touchpanel 214, isolator controller504 (FIG. 5), and digital flow enclosure 1602 (FIG. 16).

The SCADA interface 410 allows the port 308 to connect to a facilitySCADA, which allows the sampling/monitoring system 200 to be integratedinto other data collection and monitoring systems at the facility 100,such as the computing device 210. In addition to data logging, when thecomputing device 210 is integrated into the sampling/monitoring system200 in that manner, the images representing the different components ofthe sampling/monitoring system 200 (e.g., the image representing thefront of the controller 202 (e.g., FIG. 4), the touchpanel 214 (e.g.,FIG. 7), the inline flow control modules 904 (e.g., FIG. 10), and thedigital flow enclosure 1602 (e.g., FIG. 17)) can be populated in realtime with the corresponding data from the sampling/monitoring system 200to create a real-time “virtual” reproduction of that component on thecomputing device. The isolation interface prevents thesampling/monitoring system 200 from compromising the controller or theSCADA system performance by eliminating ground loops and voltage shiftswhen connecting to third-party equipment, as previously disclosed.

The port 308 may be directly connected to, or interconnected to, thecomputing device 210 via its multi-pin connections 310, or wirelessly,in addition to being connected to the touchpanel 214. As discussedabove, the computing device 210 has software and hardware to implementthe functions of the port 308. The controller 202 may also have acentral processor (not shown) so that the computing device 210 cancommunicate with that processor to control the overall operation of thecontroller 202 and its ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n.

Turning now to FIG. 5, shown therein is a purge system 502 for purgingthe air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n andassociated air tubes 220 to ensure there are no residual contaminants inthose portions of the sampling/monitoring system 200. An isolatorcontroller 504 provided in the controller 202 controls the operation ofthe vacuum pump 208 and purge pump 206 in accordance with an airsampling cycle and a purge cycle. In the air sampling cycle, theisolator controller 504, which can be a three-way solenoid, causes thevacuum pump 208 to stop by sending a signal to the vacuum pump 208 viasignal wire 512. At the same time, the isolator controller 504 controlsthe purge pump 206 to engage by sending a signal to the purge pump 206via signal wire 510. When those signals are sent, air is not pulledthrough the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 nand air tube 508 by the vacuum pump 208, but is instead pulled throughthe air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n and airtube 506 by the purge pump 206. Thus, during the air sampling cycle, airflow is steered to the vacuum pump 208 and the purge path is closed. Theopposite is done during the purge cycle, whereby air flow is steered tothe purge pump 206 and the air sampling path is closed.

Although the isolator controller 504 preferably is associated with up to10 individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 j andcorresponding air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216j, FIG. 5 shows only one air sampling device 216. During any airsampling cycle, the controller 202 is prevented from initiating a purgecycle. However, once the air sampling cycles for each of the airsampling devices 216 are complete, the controller 202 is set in thepurge mode. The isolator controller 504 ports each have a dedicatedsolenoid (not shown) that will direct the air collected during the purgecycle to a discharge tube 222, as best seen in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating the isolator controllerlogic 600 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In step602, the process enables the air sampling cycle, which is the normaloperation of the sampling/monitoring system 200. In step 604, theisolator controller 504 checks if the vacuum pump 208 is on. If thevacuum pump 208 is on, then the purge pump 206 is necessarily off,because the isolator controller 504 can only enable the vacuum pump 208or the purge pump 206 at any one time. If the vacuum pump 208 is not on,then the vacuum pump 208 is turned on in step 606. That can beaccomplished automatically based on a preprogrammed time or operation,or manually by entering a command at the remote computing device 210 orat a touchpanel 214 located within the clean room 102.

In step 608, the isolator controller 504 keeps the vacuum pump 208 on.In step 610, the isolator controller 504 checks to see if the purgecycle should continue to be disabled. If so, the process returns to step604 and the sampling cycle continues. Once the isolator controller 504receives a signal from the controller 202 to enter the purge cycle, instep 612, the isolator controller 504 starts the purge cycle. At the endof the purge cycle, the isolator controller 504 returns to the airsampling cycle, at step 604, or possibly shuts off the system until thenext air sampling system starts. In general, the purge cycle will rununtil the next air sampling cycle is scheduled, which could be, forexample, once every 24 hours. In some clean rooms 102, such as a class100 clean room, it may not be necessary to run a purge cycle during theperiod when the air sampling cycle is not being performed. The isolatorcontroller logic 600 is implemented by an isolator printed circuit board(not shown) that interfaces with the SCADA (typically operated by a PC)or programmable logic controllers. The board eliminates the joining ofthe facility's 100 voltage system with the power system of the presentinvention.

The isolation circuit board is located in the controller 202 and can beconnected to the SCADA or to a programmable logic controller system,such as that of the computing device 210. Accordingly, all commands andobservations can be made at remotely. The wireless and isolationfeatures of the system 200 can be implemented on any of the interfacesconnected to the controller 202. For example, when the controller 202receives a command to start an air sampling cycle, the touchpanel 214,the computing device 210, the inline flow control modules 904 (FIG. 9),and the digital flow enclosure 1602 (FIG. 16) will each observe the airsampling cycle in progress. Also for example, when an air flow error isdetected, the controller 202 can broadcast the error detected in aparticular port 308 to the touchpanel 214, the computing device 210, theinline flow control modules 904, and the digital flow enclosure 1602 (orany other input/output device connected to the system 200 that may beused).

The purging cycle involves injecting steam, hydrogen peroxide, or othervapor/gas into the air flow through the air sampling devices 216 a, 216b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n and air tubes 220. That may be accomplishedby isolating the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and216 n in one or more isolator chambers 514 and introducing a flow ofpurging gases at flow rate Q_(g) into the chamber 514 when the purgecycle is turned on. The isolator chamber 514 does not have or allow anyhuman contact inside the enclosure. Other techniques for purging anddecontaminating air tubes are well known in the art. Users of thepresent system involved in pharmaceutical manufacturing operations willdesire to sanitize various system components before any drug substancesare mixed and before commencing with finish and fill operations. Thepurge mode of the present invention allows the sterilization of thetubes directly connected to the isolator. The purge vapor/gas exits theisolator controller 504. During the isolated purging cycle, the airflowing through the air tube 508 may be conditioned by gas conditioningdevice 516, which may comprise particulate filters (not shown), organicadsorbents, activated charcoal, a knockout drum, cyclone, or othersubstance or device, or combination of substances and devices.

Turning now to FIG. 7, shown therein is a schematic diagram of atouchpanel 214 according to a non-limiting embodiment of the presentinvention. The touchpanel 214, as discussed previously, may be a staticwall-mounted device, or it may be portable and adapted to being locatedon any flat surface, such as a bench, inside the working area of theclean room 102. The touchpanel 214 is the human interface input/outputdevice for the air sampling/monitoring system 200. It remotely controlsthe controller 202 which is located outside the clean room 102. Thatdesign removes most of the electronics of the system from the asepticareas of the clean room 102, including the system power supply, flowswitch circuitry, and other electronics. The touchpanel 214 electronicsare sealed inside the device so that the device may be disinfected likeother portions of the clean room 102.

The touchpanel 214 allows the user to start, stop, program, and monitorwhether and where air sampling and purge cycles are being performedwithin the clean room 102. It also allows the user to abort an airsampling cycle and to observe a visible alert indicator 700 and hear anaudible alarm 702 if an airflow error is detected during an air samplingcycle. For example, an alert/alarm may be generated when the systemdetects a 1 CFM air flow error above or below the pre-programmedset-point flow rate. The visible alert indicator 700 may be alight-emitting diode (LED) that illuminates to provide a visibleindication of the error to the user. And, the audible alarm 702 may be abuzzer that produces a sound to provide an audible indication of theerror to the user. A start up/abort printed circuit board (not shown)controls the run and abort inputs of the timer 402 (see FIG. 4).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the touchpanel 214 includesfour displays 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, and 704 d corresponding to each offour individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d on the controller202 connected to air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d.But, just as controller 202 may have any number n of modular ports 308a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n, the touchpanel 214 may have anynumber n of corresponding displays 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, . . . , and 704n.

Each display 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, and 704 d includes various switches230 for signaling to the controller 202 which air sampling devices 216a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or 216 d to use for a sampling cycle. Thoseswitches include a start switch 706, a stop switch 708, and an alarmreset switch 710. The start switch 706 powers up the touchpanel 214 andthe individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n of thecontroller 202 to which the touchpanel 214 is connected. One or morevisual indicators 226, such as LEDs, provide a visual confirmation thatthe power on the touchpanel 214 has been activated and that the vacuumpump 208 is on. The air flow switch 404 at the controller 202 is adaptedto accurately determine whether the vacuum pump is maintaining theproper flow rate at the corresponding port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308d regardless of the composition of the flowing air (i.e., amount ofnitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide gases) so that status can bedisplayed at each corresponding display 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, and 704 d.

A start signal is input to the controller 202 from the touchpanel 214when the start switch 706 is activated, which will initiate a samplingcycle in the controller 202 hardware. A start signal may also be sentfrom the timer 402 associated with one of the ports 308. When theindividual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202receive the start signal, the controller 202 will start a sampling cycleby controlling the isolator controller 504. The controller 202 theninforms the touchpanel 214 that a sampling cycle instruction signal hasbeen issued.

Activating the stop switch 708 sends an abort signal to the controller202 that halts a sampling cycle already in progress. When the individualports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202 receive theabort signal, the controller 202 will instruct the touchpanel 214 bycontrolling the isolator controller 504. The controller 202 then informsthe touchpanel 214 that the sampling cycle instruction signal has beenhalted. When a sampling cycle is in progress, the individual ports 308a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202 will instruct thetouchpanel 214 and, if necessary, the SCADA interface 410 (e.g., tocommunicate with a separate system), that a sampling cycle is inprogress. That signal will remain active for the remainder of thesampling cycle duration.

When an individual port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , or 308 n is in themiddle of a sampling cycle and an air flow deficiency is detected, thecontroller 202 will broadcast a 1 CFM error to the port 308 a, 308 b,308 c, . . . , or 308 n that is in the middle of the sampling cycle. Thepower input to the SCADA system will go from active to non-active duringa sampling cycle for that port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , or 308 n andcontinue to be non-active for the duration of the sampling cycle, oruntil the 1 CFM error is removed. Activating the alarm reset switch 710manually resets (i.e., turns off) the visual alert indicator 700 foreach individual display 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, or 704 d if a 1 CFM erroroccurs at that the corresponding port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, or 308 dduring a sampling cycle.

Each touchpanel 214 can include its own power source, such as anindependent DC power supply (i.e., batteries), or it can be electricallyconnected and powered by the controller 202 via signal wires 218 (FIGS.2 and 3) that provide DC power to the touchpanel 214. In the latterconfiguration, the signal wires 218 are shielded plenum wire configuredto transmit less than about 12 watts of power per port 308 a, 308 b, 308c, and 308 d.

The touchpanel 214 either includes signal wires 218 (FIG. 2) or utilizesa wireless connection to communicate signals with the ports 308 a, 308b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n of the controller 202. The touchpanel 214may include a different signal wire 218 a, 218 b, 218 c, . . . , or 218n or paired wireless connection for each of the individual ports 308 a,308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n of the controller 202. Accordingly, thenumber n of signal wires 218 a, 218 b, 218 c, . . . , and 218 n orpaired wireless connections connecting the touchpanel 214 to theindividual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, . . . , and 308 n of thecontroller 202 will depend on the number n of ports the touchpanel 214is controlling.

Turning now to FIG. 8, shown therein is a schematic diagram of aportable air sampling/monitoring system 800 according to anothernon-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The airsampling/monitoring system 800 includes a filtered sampling device 802,a controller 804 (front view shown), a touchpanel 214, and a touchpanelbase station 302. Although the computing device 210 is not illustrated,that component may also be present in the sampling/monitoring system 800as disclosed above for the sampling/monitoring system 200 illustrated inFIG. 2.

The filtered sampling device 802 includes an air sampling device 206located within a laminar air flow hood or isolation chamber 806, whichmay include a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter (not shown).The air sampling device 206 and the controller 804 are provided in asingle, portable filtered sampling device 802 that may be placed in anylocation within the clean room 102, or outside the clean room 102, asnecessary.

The air sampling device 206 is attached to the controller 804 using avacuum air tube 220 that is about seven feet or less. The features andfunctionality of the controller 804 are similar to those disclosed abovein connection with FIGS. 2-5. For example, the controller 804 providesfor a 1 CFM air flow error detection during an air sampling cycle and itis easily connected to a facilities' 100 SCADA. The controller 804differs from the controller 202 illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 primarily inthat it includes a self-contained vacuum pump (not shown) rather than anexternal air vacuum pump 208, as illustrated most clearly in FIGS. 2 and5.

The touchpanel base station 302 is preferably positioned at a locationnear the controller 804 and is configured to route signals between thecontroller 804 and the touchpanel 214, either by signal wires 304 and314, wireless network 306 and 316, or a combination thereof. In theportable air sampling/monitoring system 800 illustrated in FIG. 8, thesystem is entirely wireless such that the touchpanel base station 302routes signals wirelessly between the controller 804 and the touchpanel214 via wireless network 306 and 316. In addition, the touchpanel 214 isportable rather than wall-mountable in that embodiment, which providesthe user with portable input/output control of the air sampling device206 by way of the controller 804. Accordingly, the portable airsampling/monitoring system 800 illustrated in FIG. 8 is fully portableand does not require any penetration of walls, ceilings, or floors forinstalling wall-mounted components or routing cables or air tubes. Forexample, the filtered sampling device 802 and the controller 804 may beplaced in a clean room 102 and monitored and controlled remotely usingthe touchpanel 214 in an adjacent space 104. The touchpanel base station302 may be positioned at any point in between the controller 804 and thetouchpanel 214 as required to facilitate signal routing therebetween.Thus, the installation costs are much less than other embodimentsdisclosed previously.

Referring to FIG. 9, a sampling/monitoring system 900 is shown inaccordance with an yet another non-limiting embodiment of the presentinvention. The system 900 includes a controller 202 (rear view shown),four inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d, aninline flow control base station 950, four air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, and a vacuum pump 208. Although the computingdevice 210 is not illustrated, that component may also be present in thesampling/monitoring system 900 as disclosed above for thesampling/monitoring system 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. And, although onlyfour inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d and airsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d are illustrated, anynumber n of inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , and904 n and four air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , 216 nmay be used.

The features and functionality of the controller 202 are substantiallythe same as those disclosed above in connection with FIGS. 2-5 andutilizes an external vacuum pump 208. The controller 202 communicateswith the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d byway of the inline flow control base station 950 to control operation ofthe inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d. The flowrate at each individual air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216d will be measured and displayed at the corresponding inline flowcontrol module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, or 904 d so those flow rates can bemonitored independently at each inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b,904 c, or 904 d. A flow alert/alarm is generated in the event that theflow rate measured at any individual inline flow control module 904 a,904 b, 904 c, or 904 d is outside of a desired flow rate. Accordingly,the sampling/monitoring system 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 allows thesampling cycle occurring at each individual sampling device 216 a, 216b, 216 c, and 216 d to be monitored and controlled independently of oneanother, thereby adding an additional degree of freedom of operation tothe present invention.

As shown, a separate inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, or904 d is associated with each air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c,or 216 d. Each air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d isconnected to its respective inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904c, and 904 d by an atrium air flow line 915, and each inline flowcontrol module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d is connected to thecontroller 202 by a vacuum air line 920. The vacuum pump 208 isconnected to the controller 202 by air tube 508. The controller 202separates the air flow created by the vacuum pump 208 among the variousvacuum air lines 920 leading out from the controller 202 to the inlineflow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d. The vacuum pump 208is in fluid communication with a manifold that connects the vacuum pump208 to the proper solenoid to direct the air flow to one or more desiredvacuum air lines 920. The controller 202 is configured so that eachatrium air flow line 915 and vacuum air line 920 carries 1 CFM of air,which is the desired air flow rate needed to conduct a proper samplingcycle at the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d. By wayof comparison, the various air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and216 d in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 were in direct flowcommunication with the controller 202 via the air tubes 220, while theinline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d arepositioned between the air sampling devices 916 and the controller 202in the embodiment illustrated FIG. 9.

In addition, the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and904 d are in electrical communication with the inline flow control basestation 950 via a first group of signal wires 912. The inline flowcontrol base station 950 is in electrical communication with thecontroller 202 via a second group of signal wires 914. Separate signalwires 912 are provided for each inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b,904 c, and 904 d and respective air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c,or 216 d. As shown, the vacuum air lines 920 and signal wires 914 areconnected at respective ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of thecontroller 202, which are illustrated more clearly in FIG. 3. The ports308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d are dedicated to the respective inlineflow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d and not shared withany other ports. Although the controller 202, the inline flow controlbase station 950, and the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904c, and 904 d are shown in wired communication with one another, itshould be appreciated that those components of the sampling/monitoringsystem 900 can also be in wireless communication, as disclosed for thevarious embodiments above. Accordingly, the controller 202 activates thevarious ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d, which activate arespective inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, or 904 d.

The various inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 dare shown connected in a parallel manner to the controller 202 and tothe inline flow control base station 950. It should be apparent,however, that the controller 202, the inline flow control base station950, and the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 dcan be connected in any suitable manner. For example, the inline flowcontrol modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d can have identificationcodes, and the controller 202 can communicate with the different inlineflow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d by use of those IDcodes via a common connection (e.g. a single signal wire). And, becauseeach of the components is connected in series, certain intermediatecomponents may be removed or incorporated into other components. Forexample, the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 dcan be directly connected to the controller 202 so that an inline flowcontrol base station 950 need not be utilized.

The vacuum pump 208 receives its power from the controller 202 via thesignal wire 512 that provides an electrical connection with thecontroller 202. The controller 202 has an AC power supply 406 (FIG. 4)that supplies power to various components of the sampling/monitoringsystem 900, including the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904c, and 904 d. The inline flow control base station 950 also has an ACpower supply 1406 (FIG. 14) that supplies its power. It will beappreciated, however, that each of the components of thesampling/monitoring system 900 can have its own power source or can bepowered via an electrical connection with the controller 202, asconditions permit or require.

The inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d monitorthe actual flow rate that is realized at each respective air samplingdevice 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d. If the flow rate on the vacuumair line 920 is off by ±5% (i.e., not within the range of 0.95-1.05CFM), then the corresponding inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b,904 c, or 904 d generates an alarm signal. However, the sampling cyclecontinues until the user decides to abort the sampling cycle.Preferably, each inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904d includes an 8 second delay before the alarm signal is generated. Thatdelay accounts for fluctuations that may occur during initial start-upof the system 900. A typical sampling cycle may last between 10 minutesand 3 hours.

In addition, it should be appreciated that each inline flow controlmodule 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d can optionally transmit the alarmsignal to the inline flow control base station 950, which can then sendan alarm signal back to the other inline flow control modules 904 a, 904b, 904 c, and/or 904 d to activate their respective visual alertindicators 1004 and audible alarms 1006.

The inline flow control base station 950 also sends a flow switchdisconnect signal to the controller 202 over the signal wire 914 inresponse to the user manually activating a stop switch 1000 (FIG. 10) onan inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, or 904 d. In responseto the disconnect signal, the controller 202 cuts off the flow of air tothe respective inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, or 904 d.

Turning to FIG. 10, an inline flow control module 904 is shown ingreater detail with its corresponding vacuum air line 920 and signalwire 912. The inline flow control module 904 has a stop switch 1000, astart switch 1002, dual alert/alarm indicators 1004 (visual) and 1006(audible), an air flow plug adapter 1008, and a digital flow switchinterface 1010. The start switch 1002 is used to manually activate asample period. In response to the start switch 1002 being activated, theinline flow control module 904 sends a signal to the controller 202 viathe flow base station 950. The controller 202 activates the vacuum pump208 to cause the air flow on the vacuum air line 920 to the respectiveair sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d via the atrium airflow line 915.

The stop switch 1000 aborts the sampling cycle and turns off the vacuumair flow for the corresponding air sampling device 216. When the stopswitch 1000 is activated, a stop signal is sent to the controller 202via the inline flow control base station 950. In response, thecontroller 202 turns off the vacuum pump 208 to the respective inlineflow control module 904. The user may abort the sampling cycle forvarious reasons, including that an alert/alarm has been signaled by aninline flow control module 904.

The alert/alarm indicators 1004 and 1006 indicate if the air flow at theinline flow control module 904 is out of specification (e.g., not withinthe range of 0.95-1.05 CFM). Both a visual alert indicator 1004, such asan LED, and an audible alarm 1006, such as a buzzer, are provided toalert the user when the flow rate is out of specification. The alert andalarm continue until the stop switch 1000 is activated, or the errorconditions are removed, and the flow rate returns to the desired level(e.g., 1 CFM).

Thus, in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the airflow is only activated and de-activated when the user manually operatesthe stop and start switches 1000 and 1002, respectively. And, the stopand start switches 1000 and 1002 only activate and de-activate the airflow for the particular inline flow control module 904 at which the usermanually operates those switches 1000 and 1002. That way, the user canverify that the air sampling device 216 associated with that inline flowcontrol module 904 is properly set up and ready to perform a samplingcycle. However, it should be appreciated that the system can beconfigured so that the user can start and stop air flow to other or allof the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , and 904n in the sampling/monitoring system 900, either simultaneously or atother times, at any of the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904c, . . . , and 904 n, or at either the controller 202 or the inline flowcontrol base station 950.

An air flow plug adapter 1008 is provided on the front face of theinline flow control module 904. As FIG. 11 illustrates, the plug adapter1008 is adapted to connect to the atrium air flow line 915. The plugadapter 1008 is preferably a quick disconnect so that the atrium airflow line 915 can be quickly connected and disconnected and replaced, ifnecessary. As further illustrated in FIG. 11, the inline flow controlmodule 904 can be contained within a housing 1100 and mounted eitherinternal to a wall 5, as shown, or externally on the face of the wall 5.The electronics of the inline flow control module 904 may be sealedinside the housing so that the device may be disinfected like otherportions of the clean room 102.

Referring to FIG. 12, the inline flow control module 904 is shown withthe housing 1100 removed to show the internal workings, including theair flow switch 404. The vacuum line 920 connects through to the plugadapter 1008 for easy connection to the atrium air flow line 915. Theair flow switch 404 to which the vacuum line 920 is connected may be adigital air flow switch that is substantially the same and providessubstantially the same functionality and benefits as disclosed abovewith respect to the controller 202.

As illustrated in more detail in FIG. 13A, one end of the air flowswitch 404 is connected to the vacuum air line 920 and the opposite endis connected to the atrium air flow line 915, which leads to an airsampling device 216. The air flow switch 404 detects the flow ratecoming in from the atrium air flow line 915 and passing through to thevacuum air line 920. The air flow switch 404 generates an alarm signalif the detected air flow rate is not within the parameters set by theuser. If an alarm signal is generated, the alert/alarm indicators 1004and 1006 are activated. Accordingly, the signal wire 912 is connected toa data port on the air flow switch 404 (FIGS. 12 and 13A) and to thealert/alarm indicators 1004 and 1006. In addition, the detectionperformed by the air flow switch 404 at each inline flow control module904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , and 904 n is independent of the flow ratedetection performed by the air flow switch 404 at the controller 202 sothat the flow rate is simultaneously monitored at two locations during asampling cycle.

The inline flow control module 904 is preferably positioned near itsrespective air sampling device 216 in the clean room, whereas thecontroller 202 is remotely located outside the clean room 102. Inaccordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the atrium airflow line 915 is from about 1-20 feet in length so that the inline flowcontrol module 904 can be located in the clean room 102 with the airsampling device 916. Locating the inline flow control module 904, andtherefore the air flow switch 404, near the sampling device 216 ensuresthat the flow rate at the air sampling devices 916 is accurate andallows problems with the sampling cycle taking place at any individualair sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , or 216 n to be quicklyand easily identified, isolated, and corrected. Moreover, because eachair sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n may have itsown corresponding inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . ., and 904 n, those problems can be identified, isolated, and correctedwithout the need to interfere with the operation of any other airsampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n.

For example, the air flow switch 404 will identify an error in the flowrate from an individual sampling device 216 due to a break in the vacuumair line 920 between the controller 202 and the inline flow controlmodule 904, which is particularly advantageous when the vacuum air line920 is within a wall 5 or near noisy equipment such that a break wouldotherwise be difficult to detect. The air flow switch 404 will alsoidentify an error in the flow rate from an individual sampling device216 where either the atrium air flow line 915 or vacuum air line 920 iskinked or not properly connected. And, the air flow switch 404 willidentify if the vacuum pump 208 is not turned on or working properly.When identified, such problems can be corrected without affecting anyother sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n.

Turning to FIG. 13B, the digital flow switch interface 1010 of theinline flow control module 904 is shown in further detail. The digitalflow switch interface 1010 includes a digital LED display 1300 that,unlike conventional rotameters, can be read from multiple angles anddistances. The digital flow switch interface 1010 has various buttons1302-1308 that allow the user to set the desired range of flow rates.That functionality is not provided in the touchpanel 214 disclosedabove. If the detected flow rate is outside of the range set with thosebuttons, the alarm signal is generated. In FIG. 13B, the desired flowrate of 1.00 CFM is shown on the digital flow switch interface 1010.That rate can be changed by pressing the up/down arrows 1302 to increaseor decrease the value that is displayed, which is then transmitted tothe controller 202 so that the desired flow rate being displayed isprovided via the vacuum air line 920. The inline flow control module 904can be calibrated and is accurate to a flow rate of ±5 percent of 1 CFM.

The digital flow switch interface 1010 also has a programming button1304 to further assist the user (e.g., a technician on site or themanufacturer) set the desired flow rate and other display options, suchas whether to display values in CFM or LPM. Light indicators 1306 and1308 are provided as an easy reference for the user to confirm that theinline flow control module 904 is operating properly and that the flowrate is being detected. For example, one light 1306 can indicate thatthe flow rate is above the minimum desired value (i.e., 0.95 CFM) andthe other light 1308 can indicate that the flow rate is below themaximum desired value (i.e., 1.05 CFM). During a sampling cycle, the airflow rate measured by the air flow switch 404 is displayed so that theuser can observe that the correct air flow is within specification andconfirm that air is flowing properly at the respective sampling device216.

In addition, the user can observe that the respective port 308 a, 308 b,308 c, . . . , or 3087 n of the controller 202 is activated and that therespective inline flow control module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , or904 n is plugged into the inline flow control base station 950, whichresults in the digital flow switch interface 1010 being activated. Undernormal operating conditions, the flow rate detected by the controller202 should be the same as that detected by the inline flow controlmodule 904 and displayed on the digital flow switch interface 1010. Ifeither one of those flow rates drops below or rises above the desiredflow rate, the alert/alarm indicators 1004 and 1006 will be activated atthe inline flow control module 904, thereby providing two points ofmeasurement to ensure the desired flow rate is maintained at eachsampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n in thesampling/monitoring system 900. That redundancy further helps the userto quickly and accurately identify, isolate, and correct problems with asampling cycle at any individual sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, .. . , or 216 n, regardless of the conditions at the other samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n.

As shown in FIG. 14, the inline flow control base station 950 has a rowof amps 1400, a row of inputs 1402, a row of outputs 1404, and an ACpower supply 1406. The rows are aligned so that each column contains asingle amp 1400, input 1402, and output 1404 associated with eachindividual inline flow control module 904. The inputs 1402 receive thesignal wire 912 from the inline flow control module 904 and the outputs1404 connect to the signal wire 914 leading to the controller 202. Theinputs 1402 also provide power to their respective inline flow controlmodule 904 to power that inline flow control module 904. The AC powersupply 1406 supplies power to the inline flow control base station 950.The inline flow control base station 950 is preferably located outsideof the clean room 102 in an adjacent room 104 and/or with the controller202. The sampling/monitoring system 900 is modular, so any number n ofinline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , and 904 n canbe plugged into the inline flow control base station 950 as needed for aparticular application.

The inline flow control base station 950 isolates the inline flowcontrol modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d from the controller 202.Thus, the DC voltage and logic signals connected to the inline flowcontrol modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d are isolated from thecontroller 202. That is done so that a short in the controller 202 doesnot cause a short in any of the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904b, 904 c, and 904 d so the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904c, and 904 d can then be controlled by another device. The inline flowcontrol modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d are modular andelectrically isolated from the controller's 202 DC voltage and grounddistribution system. Accordingly, the inline flow control base station950 is effectively a repeater that passes signals between the inlineflow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d and the controller202, that generates the DC voltage needed by the inline flow controlmodules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d, and that electrically isolatesthe controller 202.

In addition, the sampling/monitoring system 900 shown in FIG. 9 can beused with a touchpanel 214 in a similar manner as disclosed for thesampling/monitoring system 200 shown in FIG. 2. The touchpanel 214 canbe connected by wire or wirelessly. In that configuration, the inlineflow control module 904 would remain positioned between each airsampling device 216 and the controller 202, along air tube 220. In thealternative, the touchpanel 214 and its operations can be a separatedevice, or integrated into one or more of the inline flow controlmodules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, . . . , and 904 n.

Referring to FIG. 15, the digital flow switch interface 414 of thecontroller 202 is shown. The digital flow switch interface 414 of thecontroller 202 is used to operate the flow rate detection at thecontroller 202. It has similar control buttons as the digital flowswitch interface 1010 of the inline flow control module 904 illustratedin FIG. 13B. However, the digital flow switch interface 414 of thecontroller 202 also has a flow control knob or pinch valve 1500. Theflow control knob 1500 allows the user to manually adjust the air flowrate through the vacuum air lines 920. The air flow rate may need to beadjusted depending on several factors, such as the length of the vacuumair line 920 and the number n of inline flow control modules 904 a, 904b, 904 c, . . . , and 904 n that are activated at any one time.

Referring to FIG. 16, a sampling/monitoring system 1600 is shown inaccordance with yet another non-limiting embodiment of the presentinvention. The system 1600 includes a controller 202 (bottom viewshown), a digital flow enclosure 1602 (rear view shown), a controllerbase station 1604, an flow enclosure base station 1606, four airsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, a vacuum pump 208 (notshown), and a touchpanel 214. Although the computing device 210 is notillustrated, that component may also be present in thesampling/monitoring system 1600 as disclosed above for thesampling/monitoring system 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. And, although onlyfour air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d areillustrated, any number n of air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, .. . , 216 n and corresponding components may be used.

The features and functionality of the controller 202 and touchpanel 214are substantially the same as those disclosed above in connection withFIGS. 2-8. The controller 202 communicates with the controller basestation 1604, which wirelessly communicates with the flow enclosure basestation 1606 via a communications network 1608, to control the operationof the digital flow enclosure 1602. The controller base station 1604 andthe flow enclosure base station 1606 may each include an internalreceiver/transmitter (not shown) to facilitate that wirelesscommunication. The communications network 1608 may use a FHSS integratedradio with digital input/outputs and signals, with thereceiver/transmitters in the controller base station 1604 and flowenclosure base station 1606 being on the same high frequency that isunique to the overall air sampling/monitoring system 1600.

As shown, four separate air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and216 d are associated with the digital flow enclosure 1602. The digitalflow enclosure 1602 is connected to the controller 202 by vacuum airlines 1610, and the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 dare connected to the digital flow enclosure 1602 by atrium air flowlines 1612. The controller 202 is configured so that each vacuum airline 1610 and atrium air flow line 1612 carries 1 CFM of air, which isthe desired air flow rate needed to conduct a proper sampling cycle atthe air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d. By way ofcomparison, like the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c,and 904 d in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the digital flowenclosure 1602 illustrated in FIG. 16 is positioned between the airsampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d and the controller 202.The digital flow enclosure 1602 can be calibrated for each individualair sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 h and isaccurate to a flow rate of ±5 percent of 1 CFM.

The controller 202 is in electrical communication with the controllerbase station 1604 via a first group of signal wires 1614 and the digitalflow enclosure 1602 is in electrical communication with the flowenclosure base station 1606 via a second group of signal wires 1616. Thetouchpanel is in electrical communication with the controller 202 viasignal wires 218. The first and second group of signal wires 1614 and1616 are routed to and from the digital flow enclosure 1602 to provide asingle, central location for measuring, monitoring, and controlling theflow rates at the various air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or216 d. As shown, the vacuum air line 1610 and first group of signalwires 1614 are connected at a respective port 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and308 d of the controller 202. The ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d,which are illustrated more clearly in FIG. 3, are each dedicated to arespective air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d and notshared with any other ports.

Although the controller 202 and the controller base station 1604, thecontroller 202 and the touchpanel 214, and the digital flow enclosure1602 and the flow enclosure base station 1606 are shown in wiredcommunication with one another, it should be appreciated that thosecomponents of the sampling/monitoring system 1600 can also be inwireless communication via receiver/transmitters in each of thosecomponents. And, although the controller base station 1604 and the flowenclosure base station 1606 are shown in wireless communication witheach other over network 1608, it should also be appreciated that thosecomponents of the sampling/monitoring system 1600 can also be in wiredcommunication. In addition, because those components communicate witheach other in series, any intermediary component can be removed from thesampling/monitoring system 1600 if desired. For example, the controller202 can be wired directly to or in direct wireless communication withthe digital flow enclosure 1602, thereby eliminating the need for thecontroller base station 1604 and the flow enclosure base station 1606.Or, the controller 202 and the digital flow enclosure 1602 can be wireddirectly to or in direct wireless communication with the controller basestation 1604, thereby eliminating the need for the flow enclosure basestation 1606.

The touchpanel 214 is connected in a parallel manner to the ports 308 a,308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202, which is connected in aparallel manner to the controller base station 1604. And, the flowenclosure base station 1606 is connected in a parallel manner to thedigital flow enclosure 1602. It should be apparent, however, that thetouchpanel 214, the controller 202, the controller base station 1604,the flow enclosure base station 1606, and the digital flow enclosure1602 can be connected in any suitable manner. For example, the ports 308a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202 can have identificationcodes, and the touchpanel 214 can communicate with the different ports308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d by use of those ID codes via a commonconnection (e.g., a single signal wire). And, because each of thecomponents is connected in series, certain intermediate components maybe removed or incorporated into other components. For example, the ports308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of the controller 202 can be directlyconnected to the digital flow enclosure 1602 so that neither thecontroller base station 1604 nor the flow enclosure base station 1606need to be utilized.

The controller 202 has an AC power supply 406 (FIG. 4) that suppliespower to various components of the sampling/monitoring system 900, suchas the touchpanel 214. The inner flow base station 1604 and outer flowbase station 1606 may also have their own AC power supply (not shown).The digital flow enclosure 1602 receives its power from its electricalconnection with the outer flow base station 1606 via the second group ofsignal wires 1616. It will be appreciated, however, that each of thecomponents of the sampling/monitoring system 1600 can have its own powersource or can be powered via an electrical connection with thecontroller 202, as conditions permit or require.

Turning to FIG. 17, the front of a digital flow enclosure 1602 is shownin greater detail. The digital flow enclosure illustrated in FIG. 17 isconfigured to connect to eight air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c,. . . , and 216 h. The digital flow enclosure 1602 includes a digitalflow switch interface 1010 for measuring, monitoring, and controllingthe flow rate, as well as detecting airflow errors (e.g., 1 CFM errors),during a sampling cycle at each of the eight air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 h. The features and functionality of thedigital flow switch interface 1010 are similar to those disclosed abovein connection with FIG. 13B. For example, the digital flow switchinterface 1010 has a digital LED display 1300 that, unlike conventionalrotameters, can be read from multiple angles and distances, has variousbuttons 1302-1308 that allow the user to set the desired range of flowrates, and has an air flow switch 404 that detects the flow rate comingin from the atrium air flow line 1612 and passing through to the vacuumair line 1610. Using a separate air flow switch 404 for each airsampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d, the digital flowenclosure 1602 measures and displays the actual flow rate that isrealized at each respective air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and216 d. Accordingly, providing a digital flow switch interface 1010 foreach of a number n of corresponding air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b,216 c, . . . , and 216 n provides advantages over the inline flowcontrol modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d of the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 9 by providing the digital flow enclosure 1602 as asingle, central location where the flow rates at various air samplingdevices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 n located throughout aclean room 102 can be measured, monitored, and controlled. The digitalflow enclosure 1602 generates a flow alert/alarm when the flow measuredfor an air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d is outside of adesired flow rate.

The digital flow enclosure 1602 includes a visual alert indicator 1700,such as an LED, for each digital flow switch interface 1010 and,therefore, for each air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and216 h. The visual alert indicators 1700 indicate if the air flow for aspecific air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , or 216 h, asmeasured at the digital flow enclosure 1602, is outside of the desiredflow rate. The detection performed by the air flow switch 404 at thedigital flow enclosure 1602 is independent of the flow rate detectionperformed by the air flow switch 404 at the controller 202 so that theflow rate is simultaneously monitored at two locations for each airsampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 h during a samplingcycle, thereby adding an additional measure of safety throughredundancy.

The air flow switch 404 generates an alarm signal if the air flow ratemeasured at the controller 202 or the digital flow enclosure 1602 is notwithin the parameters set by the user (e.g., not within the range of0.95-1.05 CFM). However, the sampling cycle continues until the userdecides to abort the sampling cycle. Preferably, the digital flowenclosure 1602 provides an 8 second delay before the alarm signal isgenerated. That delay accounts for fluctuations that may occur duringinitial start-up of the system 1600 A typical sampling cycle may lastbetween 10 minutes and 3 hours.

When an alarm signal is generated, a visual alert indicator 1700 isactivated next to the digital flow switch interface 1010 thatcorresponds to the air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , or216 h for which the flow rate is not within the parameters set by theuser. An audible alarm 1702 is also activated at the digital flowenclosure 1602 in response to the alarm signal. The audible alarm 1702will continue until the error conditions are removed and the flow ratereturns to the desired level (e.g., 1 CFM). However, unlike disclosedabove for the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 dof the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the visual alert indicator 1700will remain on even after the error conditions are removed and the flowrate returns to the desired level. That feature allows a user todetermine, some time after the alarm signal was generated and/or afterthe sampling cycle, which of the multiple air sampling devices 216 a,216 b, 216 c, . . . , and 216 h connected to the digital flow enclosure1602 experienced an error condition during the sampling cycle.Accordingly, the user to can remain focused on his or her work in theclean room 102 rather than having to immediately check which airsampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , or 216 h is experiencingerrors every time an audible error alert sounds.

The digital display enclosure 1602 also includes an alarm reset switch1704. The alarm reset switch 1704 allows a user to manually reset (i.e.,turn off) all of the visual alert indicators 1700 after identifying theair sampling device(s) 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , and/or 216 h atwhich errors occurred during a sampling cycle. If all of the errorconditions have been removed and all of the flow rates have returned tothe desired level, all of the visual alert indicators 1700 will turnoff. For any air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, . . . , or 216 hfor which an error condition still exists, the visual alert indicator1700 will remain on.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, the touchpanel 214 will alsoreceive the alarm signal when the air flow rate measured at thecontroller 202 or the digital flow enclosure 1602 is not within theparameters set by the user. Accordingly, the visual alert indicator 700and the audible alarm 702 on the touchpanel 214 will also be activatedif the air flow rate measured at the controller 202 or the digital flowenclosure 1602 is not within the parameters set by the user. Initiatingthe alarm reset switch 1704 at the digital flow enclosure 1602 will alsoreset the corresponding visual alert indicators 700 at the touchpanel214.

The touchpanel 214 also includes an alarm reset switch 710 that willperform a similar function, resetting the visual alert indicators 700and 1700 at both the touchpanel 214 and digital flow enclosure 1602,respectively. The alarm reset switch 710 at the touchpanel 214, however,will only reset the individual visual alert indicator 700 and 1700 thatcorresponds to the individual display 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, or 704 d and,therefore, the individual air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or216 d corresponding to that display 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, or 704 d.Accordingly, the alarm reset switch 1704 allows all of the individualvisual alert indicators 700 and 1700 for all of the air sampling devices216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d to be reset from a single, centrallocation rather than requiring the user to manually reset eachindividual visual alert indicator 700 and 1700, as is required at thetouchpanel 214. Although not shown in the embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 7 and 16, the touchpanel 214 may also be provided with an alarmreset switch that provides a global system reset like the alarm resetswitch 1704 provided on the digital flow enclosure. Resetting all of thevisual alert indicators 700 and 1700 at the same time will not affectthe individual function of the ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d ofthe controller 202.

Also in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, the touchpanel 214provides the functionality for starting and stopping sampling cycles. Asdiscussed above, the touchpanel 214 includes a start switch 706 forpowering up the individual ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of thecontroller 202 to start a sampling cycle and an stop switch 708 forsending an abort signal to the controller 202 that stops a samplingcycle already in progress. Air flow is only activated and de-activatedwhen the user manually operates the start switch 706 and stop switch708, respectively. And, each start switch 706 and stop switch 708 onlyactivates and de-activates the air flow for the particular air samplingdevice 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d that corresponds to the display 704a, 704 b, 704 c, or 704 d at which that the start switch 706 or stopswitch 708 is located on the touchpanel 214. The touchpanel 214 can beused to activate the various ports 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, and 308 d of thecontroller 202, which will activate the respective digital flow switchinterfaces 1010 and air flow switches 404 at the digital flow enclosure1602.

The touchpanel 214 and digital flow enclosure 1602 are preferablylocated near and/or adjacent to each other in a clean room 102. Thatway, the touchpanel 214 can be used in conjunction with the digital flowenclosure 1602 to verify that the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216c, or 216 d associated with the touchpanel 214 and digital flowenclosure 1602 are all properly set up and ready to perform a samplingcycle. In that configuration, a user can start and stop air flow to anycombination air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and/or 216 d inthe sampling/monitoring system 1600 from a single, central location. Theuser can also measure, monitor, and control the flow rates to each ofthose air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d from that samelocation. By comparison, the inline flow control modules 904 a, 904 b,904 c, and 904 d of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 only allow theuser to measure, monitor, and control the flow rate to the air samplingdevice 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, or 216 d that corresponds to the inline flowcontrol module 904 a, 904 b, 904 c, and 904 d at which the user islocated.

The digital flow enclosure 1602 may be configured as a wall-mountable orbenchtop unit. Referring to FIG. 18, a wall-mountable configuration ofthe digital flow enclosure 1602 is shown, including its air flow switch404. The digital flow enclosure 1602 can be contained within a housing1800 and mounted either internal to a wall 5, as shown, or externally tothe face of the wall 5. The electronics of the digital flow enclosure1602 may be sealed inside the housing 1800 so that the device may bedisinfected like other portions of the clean room 102. As furtherillustrated in FIG. 18, air flow line adapters 1802 are provided at thebottom end of the digital flow enclosure 1602 and extend through thehousing to so the vacuum air line 1610 and the atrium air flow line 1612maintain fluid communication through the housing 1800.

One end of the air flow switch 404 is connected to the vacuum air line1610 and the opposite end is connected to the atrium air flow line 1612.To allow the air sampling devices 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d to beplaced at locations in the clean room 102 that are not near the digitalflow enclosure 1602, quick disconnect outlets 1804 can be placed in thewall 5 at locations in the clean room 102 away from the digital flowenclosure 1602 and nearer to the respective the air sampling devices 216a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d. Each atrium air flow line 1612 connected tothe digital flow enclosure 1602 can then be routed to a correspondingquick disconnect outlet 1804 where the atrium air flow line 1612connected to each air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d canbe placed in fluid communication with the digital flow enclosure 1602via a plug adapter 1806. The plug adapter 1806 is preferably a quickdisconnect so that the atrium air flow line 1612 can be quicklyconnected and disconnected and replaced, if necessary. That featurereduces the length of the atrium air flow line 1612 between the wall 5and each air sampling device 216 a, 216 b, 216 c, and 216 d in the cleanroom 102, which helps prevent tangling, kinking, breakage, etc. of theatrium air flow lines 1612. The remainder of the atrium air flow lines1612 remain behind the wall 5.

The flow enclosure base station 1606 is preferably located outside ofthe clean room 102 in an adjacent room 104. The second group of signalwires 1616 also connect to the rear face of the digital flow enclosure1602 and can also run behind and/or through the wall to connect thedigital flow enclosure 1602 to the flow enclosure base station 1606. Theflow enclosure base station 1606 isolates the digital flow enclosure1602 from the controller 202. Thus, the DC voltage and logic signalsconnected to the digital flow enclosure 1602 are isolated from thecontroller 202. That is done so that a short in the controller 202 doesnot cause a short in the digital flow enclosure 1602 and the digitalflow enclosure 1602 can then be controlled by another device, such asthe touchpanel 214. The controller base station 1604 functions in asimilar manner. Accordingly, the controller base station 1604 and flowenclosure base station 1606 are effectively repeaters that pass signalsbetween the digital flow enclosure 1602 and the controller 202 and thatelectrically isolate the controller 202.

It should be apparent that the controllers 202 and 804, the touchpanel214, the touchpanel base station 302, the inline flow control modules904, the inline flow control base station 950, the digital flowenclosure 1602, the controller base station 1604, and the flow enclosurebase station 1606 can each be implemented by a processor or othercomputing platform, such as the computing device 210, to control theoperation of those devices. In addition, although each of thosecomponents is shown and described as being a separate device, they canbe integrated in any combination into a single unit. In addition, eachof those components can have a separate processor, or they can all sharea single processor.

Each of the sampling/monitoring systems 200, 800, 900, and 1600 can bein a network configuration or a variety of data communication networkenvironments using software, hardware or a combination of hardware andsoftware to provide the processing functions. All or parts of thesystems 200, 800, 900, and 1600 and their associated processes can bestored on or read from computer-readable media, such as a CD-ROM orinstructions received online and carried over a transmission line orcontained in a customized hardwired application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC).

Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the disclosedinvention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains thatvariations and modifications of the various embodiments shown anddescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention belimited only to the extent required by the appended claims and theapplicable rules of law.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system for sampling air at multiple locations ina controlled environment comprising: two or more air sampling devices atdifferent locations within the controlled environment; a flow enclosurewithin the controlled environment, the flow enclosure including two ormore flow control modules, each of the flow control modules being inflow communication with one of the air sampling devices via atrium airflow lines, each of the flow control modules configured to separatelymeasure and control an air flow rate through one of the air samplingdevices; a controller outside of the controlled environment having amanifold in separate air flow communication with each of the atrium flowlines via separate vacuum airlines; and a vacuum source outside thecontrolled environment in air flow communication with the manifold ofthe controller via at least one air tube, the vacuum source providingsuction to generate air flow through the air tube, the vacuum airlines,and the atrium flow lines.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein each ofthe flow control modules is configured to measure the air flow ratethrough each of the air sampling devices by detecting the air flow ratein each of the atrium air flow lines.
 23. The system of claim 21,wherein each of the flow control modules includes a display interfacefor outputting the air flow rate through each of the air samplingdevices.
 24. The system of claim 21, wherein each of the flow controlmodules includes a control interface for controlling the air flow ratethrough each of the air sampling devices.
 25. The system of claim 21,wherein an alarm is automatically activated inside the controlledenvironment when the air flow rate measured through one of the airsampling devices deviates from a desired value by a predeterminedamount.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the alarm includes a visualalert indicator configured to identify the air sampling device with theair flow rate that deviates from the desired value by the predeterminedamount.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the flow enclosure includesa plurality of visual alert indicators, each visual alert indicatorassociated with one of the air sampling devices, wherein each visualalert indicator is configured to output a visual alert if the air flowrate through the air sampling device associated with the visual alertindicator deviates from the desired value by the predetermined amount.28. The system of claim 27, wherein each visual alert indicator isconfigured to continue outputting the visual alert after the air flowrate through the air sampling device associated with the visual alertindicator returns to within the predetermined amount of the desiredvalue.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the flow enclosure includesan alarm reset switch configured to reset all visual alert indicatorsassociated with air sampling device with air flow rates within thepredetermined amount of the desired value.
 30. The system of claim 25,wherein the alarm includes an audible alarm.
 31. The system of claim 25,wherein the alarm is output by a touch panel within the controlledenvironment.
 32. The system of claim 21, wherein the controller isconfigured to separately measure an air flow rate through each of thevacuum air lines.
 33. A method for sampling air at multiple locations ina controlled environment, the method comprising: providing two or moreair sampling devices at different locations within the controlledenvironment; providing a flow enclosure within the controlledenvironment, the flow enclosure including two or more flow controlmodules, each of the flow control modules being in flow communicationwith one of the air sampling devices via atrium air flow lines;providing a controller outside of the controlled environment having amanifold in separate air flow communication with each of the atrium flowlines via separate vacuum airlines; providing a vacuum source outsidethe controlled environment in air flow communication with the manifoldof the controller via at least one air tube, the vacuum source providingsuction to generate air flow through the air tube, the vacuum airlines,and the atrium flow lines; and separately measuring and controlling, byeach of the flow control modules, an air flow rate through each of theair sampling devices.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the flowcontrol modules measure the air flow rate through each of the airsampling devices by detecting the air flow rate in each of the atriumair flow lines.
 35. The method of claim 33, wherein each of the flowcontrol modules includes a display interface, the method furthercomprising: outputting, by each of the flow control modules, the airflow rate through each of the air sampling devices.
 36. The method ofclaim 33, wherein each of the flow control modules includes a controlinterface, the method further comprising: controlling, by each of theflow control modules, the air flow rate through each of the air samplingdevices.
 37. The method of claim 33, further comprising: automaticallyactivating an alarm inside the controlled environment when the air flowrate measured through one of the air sampling devices deviates from adesired value by a predetermined amount.
 38. The method of claim 37,wherein activating the alarm includes identifying, by a visual alertindicator, the air sampling device with the air flow rate that deviatesfrom the desired value by the predetermined amount.
 39. The method ofclaim 37, wherein: the flow enclosure includes a plurality of visualalert indicators, each visual alert indicator associated with one of theair sampling devices, and activating the alarm includes outputting avisual alert by the visual alert indicator associated with the airsampling device with the air flow rate that deviates from the desiredvalue by the predetermined amount.
 40. The method of claim 39, furthercomprising: continuing to output the visual alert, by the visual alertindicator associated with the air sampling device with the air flow ratethat deviates from the desired value by the predetermined amount, afterthe air flow rate through the air sampling device associated with thevisual alert indicator returns to within the predetermined amount of thedesired value.
 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the flow enclosureincludes an alarm reset switch, the method further comprising: resettingall visual alert indicators associated with air sampling device with airflow rates within the predetermined amount of the desired value inresponse to the alarm reset switch.
 42. The method of claim 37, whereinactivating the alarm includes activating an audible alarm.
 43. Themethod of claim 37, wherein activating the alarm comprises outputtingthe alarm by a touch panel within the controlled environment.
 44. Themethod of claim 33, further comprising: separately measuring, by thecontroller, an air flow rate through each of the vacuum air lines.